


Not Just Me and You

by Tamasha



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dating, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gay, Kid Fic, Love, M/M, Modern Era, Relationship(s), Romance, Zoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:48:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4338074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is living as a widower with his two children Gwaine and Freya, and he decides to try online dating. He meets Arthur and starts to like him, but will he get along with the kids?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Just Me and You

**Author's Note:**

> written by Natasha

I looked in the mirror and straightened my shirt, unsure of myself. I had been on dates since my wife had left me almost ten years ago, but I had not yet gone on a date with someone off of the Internet. I was still not entirely confident I had made the right decision, saying yes, but we had been talking for a few weeks now, and I really liked this Arthur. My kids were each at a friend's house for the night, so it was just me and my nerves for the next thirteen minutes.

Maybe I should have worn a tie. Was a tie too much for a first date? Arthur had said to dress nicely, but I had decided a tie was too much. Maybe I had been wrong...

The doorbell rang and I got a distinct feeling of "churning stomach." I swallowed hard.

As I opened the door, I surveyed the man before me. He actually did look like his picture: blond hair, piercing blue eyes, a crooked smile. I smiled back nervously. "I'm sorry, I'm early...."

"It's okay," I said quickly. I had been ready early, at least.

"I wanted to stay in my car and wait, but I thought if you saw me there... well, I was hoping to look less like a stalker..." He twisted his lips in uncertainty.

I let out an awkward chuckle. "No, I - you're fine. Really. I am ready, anyway. Do you want to head out?"

"Sure!" He stepped back and grinned. "You look great, Merlin."

I smiled. "You too, Arthur." I bit my lip then. He looked hot. I was out of my league. But I took a deep breath and followed him to his expensive car, where he opened the passenger door for me.

Dinner was awkward as we both adjusted our expectations of the person we had each come to know online. We weren't sure where we stood yet and the tension stopped us from exploring thoroughly. Even so, somehow, we managed to feel the other out over the course of dinner, and the man across from me was finally starting to seem like the same man I had gotten to know online.

As we walked to his car, he suggested something else. "I know it’s a little late, but there is something I had thought to show you, if the date went well."

I chuckled self-consciously. "And you think it went well?"

Arthur got a worried look on his face and stopped walking. "Don't you?"

"Of course! It was great, Arthur. I was just joking, sorry." He smiled sheepishly. I shrugged and started walking again. "Well, my kids are both gone for the night, so I can stay out as late as I like. What is it you want to show me?"

Arthur grinned, confident again. "It’s going to be a surprise." So we got back into his car and he drove me toward the edge of the city. I was actually getting nervous when we pulled into a white building, almost hidden on the outskirts of town.

"What's this?" I asked. Arthur put his finger on my lips, causing me to turn slightly red in the dark, and then he was getting out of the car. My nerves were running high as I climbed out too.

Arthur came around and took my hand. I was probably a little stiff, because he paused and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I breathed. "Just... cold."

Arthur squeezed tighter and then led me into the building. I honestly was wondering whether I was being kidnapped right now, when we walked through the door and I realized this was a NASA building. I relaxed. Arthur worked for NASA.

We wound our way through the halls and then entered a large, empty room. It was circular with a rounded ceiling and in the center of the room was a telescope.

I turned to Arthur.

"Have you ever seen Jupiter, Merlin?" I grinned.

"No..."

"How about the Pleiades? The Andromeda Galaxy?"

"I can't say that I have."

"Would you like to?"

My grin widened. "I would love to."

 

~~~

 

So we were dating. It was official and we were adorable and I was falling for him hard. Arthur was handsome and suave as well as honorable and sweet. We talked almost every day and there was really only one thing left: he had to meet my kids.

"What would they like to do?"

I pursed my lips. "Well, there isn't a lot that they will both agree to, these days."

"Merlin! I've never been around kids, give me a little help."

I thought about what I would enjoy as well as the kids. "How about the zoo?"

"If you think they will like it, then it's on me."

"Don't worry, Arthur. I just want them to meet you; it doesn’t have to be extravagant."

Arthur looked at me wryly. "I want them to like me." I stared back at him and he sighed. "The zoo it is."

 

~~~

 

"Gwaine," I said sternly. "You are going to behave yourself. I know this isn't your top activity for a Saturday, but just try to enjoy yourself. Besides, Freya loves the zoo." I glanced at Freya. At eleven, she had not yet reached the teenage "I'm cooler than this" stage that Gwaine was going through.

Gwaine groaned, but he came along without another word. When we entered the zoo itself, I found Arthur waiting just inside the gates.

He grinned at me, but I saw his tense shoulders and knew he was nervous.

"Gwaine, Freya, this is Arthur." Freya lingered by my side, shy as always, and Arthur offered a hand to Gwaine. Gwaine eyed the hand dubiously, but shook it when I glared at him.

"So... are you guys excited?" Arthur asked.

Freya nodded and crinkled the map she held in her hand.

Gwaine had to open his mouth. "I don't care about the zoo."

"Oh," Arthur said and glanced at me. I sighed. "Well, what do you like, Gwaine?"

"Look, you don't have to talk to me like I'm a kid. I'm thirteen."

Before I could chastise Gwaine, Arthur snorted. "Thirteen, right. Well, Gwaine, I will treat you like an adult if you promise to act like one. No pouting today." I bristled slightly, feeling overprotective and annoyed that he was talking to my son like that, but then Gwaine started to laugh.

"Fine," he said when he settled down. Arthur smiled.

"So where do we go first?"

Freya pulled out her map hesitantly. "I thought we could go up towards the big cats first, then loop around here, go through the reptile house, and finish off with the monkeys."

"Lead on," Arthur encouraged. I motioned for him to fall back with me but when he did, I hesitated over what to say and he spoke first. "Was I too... forward with him?"

"Well," I said, remembering that Gwaine had laughed, "It worked. Just be careful with Freya. She's more sensitive."

"Yeah, of course."

 

~~~

 

"So, Freya," he asked her a few minutes later. We were looking at the lions, sprawled across their grassy enclosement. "What is your favorite animal at the zoo?"

"Lions," she said without hesitation, not taking her eyes away from the sleeping felines.

"Oh." Arthur was a little put off. He glanced at me, but I just shrugged. He had mentioned not knowing what to talk to the kids about, but I had faith in him. "Okay... why the lions? They just sleep all day."

Now Freya looked at him, tucking her dark hair behind her ears. "But when they do wake up, they are powerful hunters - at least the lionesses are. They work together well, and they live in prides, like a big family. I think they are amazing."

"You're right," Arthur agreed. "They are pretty... amazing." He offered her a smile and she smiled tentatively back.

"Okay," Gwaine said loudly. "Let's move on. The lions are boring." Freya stuck her tongue out at him but he ignored her.

Arthur turned to Gwaine. "What do you want to see, Gwaine?"

"Nothing." He twisted his lips into a false smile, probably remembering his agreement to act better.

Arthur sighed. "So what do you like, then?"

"Football," Gwaine offered.

Arthur's face lit up. He knew football. "Who is your team?"

Gwaine grinned. "The Patriots. And they're doing well this year!"

"Not for long," Arthur challenged. "The Steelers game is coming up. They are going to be destroyed."

The two continued their banter for a few minutes, but I tuned them out happily. I didn’t care for football, so I was glad to see Arthur bond with my son over that. By the end of our visit, Arthur had convinced me to let him treat us to bowling and ice cream, the latter being Freya’s input.

"You really shouldn't spoil them," I protested futilely on the way to the car.

"I like to see them happy," Arthur told me, but the content look in his eyes made my knees go weak. I wondered for the first time if this was it. Had I finally ended that search for a life mate? Was it Arthur?

 

~~~

 

Gwaine was angry that Arthur was a better bowler than him, but he finally worked through his pride and asked Arthur to teach him. Freya was just enjoying the fact that she was consistently a few points ahead of me. I was savoring the sight of my children bonding with the man I was falling in love with. The night ended on a high note, with Arthur promising Freya she could visit sometime and meet his cocker spaniel, Gwen. As the kids got into the car, Arthur pulled me aside, a nervous look on his face.

"Did it go well? I didn't mess up too much?"

I raised my brows, surprised to see he was serious. "No, Arthur, you were perfect!" And I kissed him to show him just how much I meant it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I went to the zoo, and this came about. I actually wrote this a while ago, but I thought I might as well post it.


End file.
